Halloween Ice Storm

In October of 2020, a few days before Halloween, a treacherous ice storm hit Oklahoma, where I live. At first, when I saw the cold raindrops hit the windows, I was hoping it wouldn't turn into much, but unfortunately it did. It was the height of the pandemic and being iced in for a few days wouldn't be a big deal.

Except the power went out.

For ten days.

After the first couple of days we had settled into our pattern of staying under the covers most of the day and night. We slept in my older son's room. He has down syndrome and he didn't fully understand why we were sleeping in his room but he thought of it as a camping adventure. His is the warmest room in the house in the winter so that is why we chose it. From his window I could see trees falling into power lines and making green-blue explosions in the frozen air.

It was very interesting the way we got into a circadian rhythm of getting up early and going to bed early. We read, did crossword puzzles, and listened to a battery-powered radio. The streets became clear after several days and we would go to the grocery store to get food once a day or pick up food somewhere. It was good to get out after having shelf-stable food for a few days. My husband would go to the corner 7-eleven every morning and pick up coffee since we couldn't use our coffeemaker. It was my favorite part of the day, sitting under the blanket and drinking my coffee.

One of my sisters who lives in a town a few miles away had an extra little guesthouse we could stay at. We stayed one night but we couldn't stay longer because of our cat. Plus though the nights were cold they were soon going to be a bit warmer. And we had appointments at the beginning of the week. We stayed Halloween Eve and left Halloween morning. It was nice to have heat for a little while at least.

That Halloween night we went to bed at our usual 7 o'clock while the door bell stayed silent of trick-or treaters. With the power still out and covid going around, it wasn't much of a Halloween that year.

It was a few days into November before the power came back on. I had walked to our neighborhood Aldi's to get a few things and on the way back I saw the power company trucks. I could hardly believe it. I could finally do laundry and cook. And we would have heat.

But at the same time I was a little sad because not having power connected us to the simpler things. It was actually nice not being dependent on devices for a few days. And it did take a little while for my son to get used to the fact that we weren't "camping" in his room anymore lol.

I will never forget the Halloween ice storm of 2020.